


Kiss Me Again

by charliewrites



Series: Kiss Me Slowly [2]
Category: Lovely Little Losers, Nothing Much to Do
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 07:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7350721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charliewrites/pseuds/charliewrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Balthazar reveals to Paige what happened after her birthday party, and she decides to do something about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kiss Me Again

**Author's Note:**

> So back in May, I got a prompt by an anon on tumblr saying: "idk bout anyone else but id love it if you continued 'kiss me slowly'. possibly involving awkward run ins at uni and expert scheming by chels/paige."
> 
> Now, since I wrote Kiss Me Slowly, I've probably written about 15 versions of a sequel, none of which I liked and therefore didn't want to put up. That, and the fact that I've been super busy with exams as well as writing my own original stuff, is the reason that it's out so late.
> 
> The song that Balthazar sings is 'Don't You' by Darren Criss, which helped me immensely when it came to inspiration for this story.
> 
> The title is from the song of the same name by We Are The In Crowd feat. Alex Gaskarth.

‘I’m going to need to borrow your notes; I didn’t understand a thing,’ Balthazar said as he and Paige exited their music composition lecture. It was Monday after Paige’s birthday party, and life was back to being painfully normal again.

‘You did seem a little preoccupied,’ Paige noted before breaking into a teasing smile and bumping their shoulders together, ‘Is it a boy?’

‘What? No!’ Balthazar said, admittedly a little too defensive, while they exited the building and started walking across the yard. 

‘Oh, come on! The only other time I’ve ever seen you like this was when that cute guy from our theory lecture asked you out last year,’ Paige said with a laugh. 

Balthazar vaguely registered that she kept talking, but just then a certain blond guy caught his eye halfway across the yard. He was accompanied by a dark haired, tall guy, and he looked way better than Balthazar remembered. The butterflies in his stomach started to stir. 

Peter made eye contact, smiled, and waved at Balthazar. Balthazar tried waving subtly, but he couldn’t do anything about his smile. 

‘Who…?’ Paige asked and followed Balthazar’s line of sight, before turning back to him with the biggest smile on her face, ‘Peter Donaldson is the guy you were daydreaming about?’

‘I was _not_ daydreaming!’ Balthazar said, trying to defend himself, and – hopefully – distract Paige from the subject of Peter. 

‘Balth, please,’ Paige said, raising her eyebrows at him. 

‘Okay, I might have daydreamed a little, but it doesn’t matter anyway,’ Balthazar said, partly to her, and partly to remind himself, ‘We want different things.’

‘What do you mean?’ Paige asked, ‘How do you know what he wants?’

They sat down on a bench, and Balthazar chewed on his lower lip for a moment, trying to decide how much he wanted Paige to know. He hadn’t told anyone about his walk home from the party two nights ago. Not even Kit, Balthazar’s flatmate, knew, and Balthazar told him almost everything. 

Besides, did he want to tell someone who knew Peter? It had been a bit embarrassing for the both of them, and Peter might not want Paige to know that he struck out. What if Peter didn’t want anyone to know what had happened between the two of them?

Then again, he had just waved and smiled at Balthazar from across the yard, and if anyone understood delicate situations and how to handle them, it was Paige. 

‘Promise not to tell anyone?’ Balthazar heard himself say and kicked himself for how childish it sounded. 

‘Scouts honour!’ Paige said and drew an invisible cross over her heart, very obviously trying to stay serious. Balthazar rolled his eyes at her. 

‘Okay, after your party on Saturday, Peter and I walked home together, because we were going the same way-‘ 

‘You live in completely different neighbourhoods,’ Paige interrupted, looking confused.

‘I decided to go the long way. Anyway, we were talking about aliens and space, and then we reached his door, and then suddenly we were making out,’ Balthazar said, keeping his eyes on his hands. He was well aware how out of character that was for him. 

‘Making out with strangers. Balthy’s crossing to the wild side,’ Paige said with a grin, but Balthazar shot her a look that made her shut up. 

‘It got a little… heated, and he ended up asking if I wanted to come inside,’ Balthazar said, his heart pounding in his chest. Just thinking about it made him feel weird, ‘But I turned him down.’

‘And then what?’ Paige asked, looking like she was on the edge of her seat.

‘And then nothing. I went home, end of story,’ Balthazar said, before allowing himself to think a little more about the kiss, ‘It was a great kiss, though.’

Paige straightened her back and looked at him as though she was confused, ‘Did you exchange numbers?’

‘No,’ Balthazar replied, ‘We barely exchanged names.’

‘Wow, you really were crossing to the wild side. You usually don’t let anyone kiss you until you know the name of their childhood pet,’ Paige said, and Balthazar tried not to smile as he rolled his eyes at her again. 

‘There’s a reason I do that, though. As soon as things got heated, he assumed I wanted to sleep with him,’ Balthazar explained, once again reminding himself why this kiss had been a bad idea. 

‘Wait, did he not take the rejection well? Because as far as I’ve seen, Peter’s always respectful and kind,’ Paige said.

‘No, he was really nice about it,‘ Balthazar said, the moment of Peter insisting that it was cool playing over and over in his mind.

‘So what’s the problem?’ Paige asked, leaning back against the backrest on the bench. 

‘The problem is that he’s the type of person that sleeps with strangers, and I’m not. He isn’t looking for something more meaningful than a night of fun. We wouldn’t be good together,’ Balthazar explained, immediately embarrassed to have revealed that he’d already thought about the possibilities of commitment with a guy he’d talked to only once.

‘And you’re basing all of that on a single kiss and proposition for sex? Balthy, there is more than one way to start a relationship; maybe Peter’s used to doing it differently than you. That doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t be good together, though,’ Paige said, placing a calming hand on Balthazar’s upper arm. 

‘Maybe. But it doesn’t matter anyway. He hasn’t asked for my number so he’s clearly not interested,’ Balthazar said, determined to not get his hopes up. 

‘You know, you could always ask for his number. Ever thought about that?’ Paige asked with a challenging look on her face, ‘I could give it to you, in fact.’

‘Nah, I’m not in the mood for complete humiliation right now,’ Balthazar said and got up, ‘I really need to get some studying done. See you tomorrow?’

Paige sighed in defeat and got up as well, ‘Yeah, see you. And don’t hesitate to text me if you change your mind.’

Balthazar shot her an uncommitted smile before he steered toward the library.

-

The next afternoon, Balthazar was on his bed, writing a song, when a text made his phone light up and pulled him from his focused bubble. In truth, he’d been done with the song he was working on for hours, but he couldn’t help but tweak it ever so slightly every now and then. 

He set his guitar in its stand and picked up his phone to see who wanted to get in touch with him. 

Paige Moth:  
_Got you a gig at Navarre Bar on Friday <3_

Balthazar frowned down at his phone; Paige very rarely got him gigs, and she never did it unprompted. Of course, it was nice of her to do it, but something was telling Balthazar that she had an agenda. Especially since he never had gigs without at least a week’s notice. 

Balthazar:  
_How’d you do that?_

The reply came in quickly. 

Paige Moth:  
_I’m playing there with three other artists, but one just cancelled, and I promised to find a replacement. Will you do it?_

Balthazar:  
_Alright, I’ll do it._

Paige Moth:  
_Great! You only have to play four songs, and at least one of those should be an original. Sound check is at 5._

-

Friday afternoon at five minutes to five, Balthazar entered Navarre Bar with his guitar case in his hand. The place had a nice atmosphere, but Balthazar had played enough bars to know that that could change very quickly, especially when they started to get busy. 

The bartender – a girl with a bemused facial expression – pointed him to the “green room,” which was basically just the staff room that the musicians got to hang out in. Paige and Chelsey were the only ones there, though. 

‘Balthazar!’ Chelsey exclaimed when she saw him, and gave him a big hug. Paige was much gentler.

‘How are you?’ she asked, a routine question when he was about to play somewhere. 

‘I’m good. I decided to play a new one so I’m a little nervous about that, but… I think it’ll be fine,’ he told her and gave her a thumbs up. 

‘But you’re going to play _New Beginning_ , right?’ Chelsey asked, her face and tone serious; it was no secret that that song was her favourite of Balthazar’s. 

‘Yes, I’m playing that,’ Balthazar assured her with a chuckle. 

Sound check went well, and it wasn’t soon before the gig started. A girl called Ophelia was first, then Balthazar, then Paige, and then Zeb – who Balthazar knew from his music theory lecture – would finish up. It fit Balthazar well, since it didn’t give him much time to get properly nervous from hearing the other artists’ songs.

Ophelia finished her set with a beautiful little ballad on the ukulele, and the presenter introduced Balthazar. After a deep, cleansing breath, Balthazar stepped onto the stage, took a single sweeping look at the audience, and started playing _New Beginning_. 

‘Thanks,’ he said when the end of the third song was met with applause from what felt like the whole bar, ‘this last song is a new one of mine – I haven’t played it to anyone yet, so here’s hoping it goes well. It’s called _Don’t You_.’

He drew a breath and started plucking at the guitar, and before he knew it, he was immersed in the music and words that he’d written.

_Say_  
_Wasn’t that a funny day?_  
_Gee, you had a funny way – a way about you_  
_A kind of glow, a something new_

_Sure_  
_I’ll admit that I’m the same_  
_Another sucker for a game kids like to play_  
_And the rules we like to use_

_Don’t you want the way I feel_  
_Don’t you want the way I feel_  
_Don’t you want the way I feel for you_

_The sun_  
_Telling me the night is done_  
_Well, I refuse to let it stop our fun_  
_Close your eyes, we’ll make it dark again_

_And kiss_  
_There’s a thought so how about this_  
_Let’s pretend that both our lips are made of candy_  
_After all, we need sweets every now and then_

_Don’t you want the way I feel_  
_Don’t you want the way I feel_  
_Don’t you want the way I feel for you_

_Well, here we are, two strangers_  
_In a very different place_  
_Who knows_  
_What will happen_  
_To us next_  
_Here we are with nothing but this little spark_  
_It’s too cold outside to lay this fire to rest_

_Go_  
_How so very apropos_  
_A goodbye just as soon as I said hello_  
_Well, alright, I’ll see you later_

_It’s true_  
_It’s just a fantasy for two_  
_But what’s the difference if it all could have been true?_  
_I guess this is better_

_But don’t you want the way I feel_  
_Don’t you want the way I feel_  
_Don’t you want the way I feel for you_

_Oh, don’t you want the way I feel_  
_Don’t you want the way I feel_  
_Don’t you want the way I feel for you_

_Don’t you want the way_  
_That I feel for_  
_You_

As he was singing the last few lines, his eyes locked on Peter who was behind the bar, staring at him. Fuck. 

The bar broke out into applause again; Balthazar thanked them, and left the stage as fast as he could without wanting to seem rude. 

‘Did you know that he works here?’ he asked as he passed Paige who was getting ready for her set. 

‘Who?’ she asked, but Balthazar shot her a look, ‘Oh, Peter! Well, how about you go talk to him? I have to go now.’

And with that, she left him alone in the staff room. Well, Zeb was there, but Balthazar didn’t really have any real interest in talking to him. 

He was faced with two choices – maybe three: He could stay in the staff room and make awkward conversation with Zeb (not likely), he could flee the scene through the back door… or he could go out there and talk to Peter. 

Of course, there was really only one option, because he wanted to see Paige’s set, and Peter had already seen him, so just leaving would be very rude. 

But Peter had heard his new song that he’d written about Peter, which was pretty obvious. Why did he have to be so obvious?! And why had he chosen tonight of all nights to play it?!

Swallowing his pride – and hoping Peter was too oblivious to understand that the song was about him – Balthazar left the staff room and went up to an empty seat at the end of the bar. Chewing his lower lip, he caught Paige’s eye. She winked at him before looking away and continuing her song. Balthazar could feel his chest vibrate from his heart pounding. 

‘What can I get you?’

He’d forgotten how nice Peter’s voice was, and he looked up to see Peter smiling that dazzling smile at him. It made him completely blank on all drinks ever made. 

‘Uh…’ Balthazar mumbled and made himself look down at the coaster, he was fiddling with, ‘Just a beer.’

‘”Just a Beer” coming right up,’ Peter said and winked at Balthazar when he looked up, making Balthazar blush. This was so embarrassing. 

The bar was pretty busy so Peter had to tend to another customer after he’d handed Balthazar his beer. Balthazar nursed his beer while he watched Paige’s set, and he debated whether to go join Chelsey at her table or not, but decided against it, since she’d probably just send him back to Peter. 

Balthazar loved Paige and Chelsey with all his heart, but they had a habit of pushing things on him if they thought it would be good for him. Granted, they never pushed too far, but this Peter thing was dangerously close. 

‘So Paige tells me, you’ve got me all figured out,’ Peter said when it’d quieted down, and he was leaning on the bar. 

‘Paige should mind her own business,’ Balthazar said and sipped his beer. He wasn’t very comfortable with Paige sharing their conversation with others – especially Peter, ‘What’d she say?’ 

‘Not much, just that you told her about last weekend, and that you have very little faith in me,’ Peter said, and if Balthazar wasn’t mistaken, there was a little pain in Peter’s voice as he said the last part. He kind of hoped he was mistaken.

‘Well, you did kiss me and not call me afterward,’ Balthazar pointed out, not sure where all that confidence was suddenly coming from. 

‘I didn’t think you’d want me to call you. Besides, I didn’t get your number,’ Peter pointed out and started cleaning the counter – most likely to just have something to do. 

‘That’s a lazy excuse; you could’ve asked Paige or Chelsey for it!’ Balthazar said with a frown, keeping his eyes on his beer bottle.

‘Well, excuse me for thinking that you didn’t want them to know!’ Peter said a little too loud, making some of the people by the bar look at them. In a quieter voice, he said, ‘you could’ve asked for my number too, you know.’

Balthazar chewed on his lip and pulled his sleeves over his hands. Peter was right, technically. He was just so used to not having to be the one to make a move that he hadn’t thought about it like that. 

He looked up at Peter and met his eyes, ‘Yeah, I guess. Sorry.’

‘Nah, it’s fine,’ Peter said and drew a deep breath, ‘this is not how imagined this would go.’

Balthazar tried to suppress his smile and the butterflies stirring in his gut, ‘You imagined this?’

‘Well, I mean…’ Peter said, his face turning a nice shade of pink that Balthazar found a little endearing, ‘You know, sometimes the mind wanders, especially when your flatmate makes you watch _Marlowe In Love_ for the millionth time, and when the mind wanders it’s really not up to me what scenarios it thinks up.’

Balthazar tried not to laugh at how adorable Peter was when he was nervous, ‘I suppose not.’

Peter hid his face in his hands for a few seconds before peeking out between his fingers, an action that made Balthazar shake his head at Peter while he tried to keep the laughing to a minimum. Peter was a dork, and Balthazar kind of liked it.

‘Can we start over?’ Peter asked sheepishly, ‘Can I take you to dinner tomorrow?’

‘Sure, I’d like that,’ Balthazar said with a warm smile, and they locked eyes. It had been a while since Balthazar had felt this much this early in a relationship… or whatever this was going to turn into. 

‘So, about that last song, you played,’ Peter then said, and now it was Balthazar’s turn to hide his face, though he chose his arms, ‘Do you make out with many strangers, or was that song about me?’

Balthazar didn’t come out of his hiding place, ‘This is so embarrassing. I didn’t know you’d be here.’

Peter laughed, a sound Balthazar rather liked hearing, ‘I thought it was cute. Means I’m not the only one who’s been thinking about it.’

Balthazar looked up at Peter, who was smiling at him. 

‘I especially liked the part about pretending lips are candy. Very poetic,’ Peter teased, and Balthazar rolled his eyes at him, but couldn’t quite suppress the smile creeping up on him. 

‘You’re terrible,’ Balthazar mumbled, shaking his head when Peter started laughing again.

-

The date was better than Balthazar could’ve hoped; Peter picked him up with only a couple of remarks about how far Balthazar lived from him and how much he must’ve really wanted to walk home with Peter after Paige’s birthday party. Then, Peter took him to a nice restaurant that actually had more than one vegan dish on the menu. They talked and laughed for hours, and Peter was charming as ever. They split the bill, but only because Balthazar insisted, and because they’d both had one glass of wine too many to drive, Peter insisted on walking Balthazar home. 

‘You really don’t have to do this,’ Balthazar said for the fifth time that evening, ‘Your place is in the opposite direction.’

‘Didn’t stop you last week, did it?’ Peter teased and bumped their shoulders together. Their hands bumped together as a result, and to Balthazar’s surprise, Peter took a hold of his hand. 

He looked down at his shoes to try and hide the smile that was creeping in on his lips. 

‘So I have a confession to make,’ Peter said after they’d walked in silence for a few minutes. 

Balthazar’s heart dropped to his stomach. This was where Peter would reveal that he’d only taken Balthazar on a date because Paige had made him, and because he wanted to see if there was a chance they’d have sex this time. Balthazar wanted to yank his hand away, but he waited. 

‘Yeah?’ he said instead, trying not to reveal what he was thinking. 

‘Yeah. Um, so last semester, I took a history course with Professor Richardson,’ Peter said, sounding nervous. 

Balthazar frowned in confusion and looked up at Peter, ‘Wha… wait, I took that course.’

Peter smiled softly, ‘Yeah, you did. I always sat in the back, and you always sat in the middle. You’d bring a travel mug for the morning lecture.’

‘Um…’ Balthazar started, not sure how to react to that. 

‘I’m not a stalker, I swear!’ Peter started defending himself, ‘I just… I guess I developed a tiny crush on you from afar but was too shy to do anything about it. And then I saw you at Paige’s birthday party, and I thought: “What the hell,” so I joined you in that stargazing. I didn’t plan the kiss, but I’m glad it happened.’

‘Oh,’ Balthazar said, not sure whether to feel flattered or creeped out, ‘But then it makes even less sense that you didn’t ask for my number.’

‘Yeah, well, I thought I’d screwed up with that, “Do you want to come inside?” comment so I backed off,’ Peter explained, ‘And I know you think I’m only after sex, but I’m not. Sex is nice, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not all that I want.’

Just then, they reached the door to Balthazar’s flat and stopped, Balthazar once again ending up a little closer to Peter than intended, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. 

‘I like you, and I’d like to go on more dates with you if you’re up for it,’ Peter said, that soft smile once again on his face. He looked so open and honest that Balthazar melted a little bit inside. 

‘That’s lucky, because I like you too, and I’d love to go on more dates with you,’ Balthazar said, and felt Peter intertwine their fingers. 

‘Great,’ Peter whispered and gave Balthazar’s hand a squeeze before letting go, ‘I’ll text you.’

He turned around and started to walk back, leaving Balthazar felling like something was missing. He started fishing out his keys, when a rush of adrenaline hit him. 

‘Wait!’ he called out after Peter, who stopped and turned around at Balthazar’s request. Balthazar went up to him, his pulse racing; he couldn’t believe he was doing this, ‘You forgot something.’

Peter smiled and met Balthazar halfway. The kiss was so much better than Balthazar remembered it – though that might have something to do with the fact that they were both significantly more sober this time. It was also shorter, though not exactly short in itself, just shorter than their first. This one held a promise of more kisses to come.

‘Goodnight, Balthazar,’ Peter said when they pulled apart, his voice soft and warm.

‘Goodnight, Peter,’ Balthazar replied, not able to hide his smile as he stepped away, waving at Peter, who was walking away now, and went back to his door, fishing the keys out of his pocket. The smile never left his face.

This was the beginning of something beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked that! Let me know what you think!


End file.
